I hate spicy foods. One time when I was in S. Korea my friend dragged me to this famous spicy chicken restaurant. The line was out the door and the entire sidewalk in front of the place, maybe 50 feet or so, was lined with milk crates full of bottle returns 6 feet high. The closer you got to the place, the hotter it got. By the time we were inside it was a complete warzone, people puking, chugging milk, running to the bathroom. Yet there was always a few stone faced customers, tearing through the fire chicken. Those brave souls are the hop heads of South Korea, doing their thing with fire chicken because they have no hoppy beer to wreck their tastebuds.

I think you are on to something with hop/spicy food acceptance. Not everyone can handle the acidity from a hot pepper. I don't think it is a preference issue for them but rather a chemistry issue with what their mouth and taste buds can handle.

Therefore, you can make the assumption that folks who like the higher IBU are probably those who do not react to the acidity of hot peppers as well. I doubt it has anything to do with taste buds being burn't of with beer preference.

I think you are on to something with hop/spicy food acceptance. Not everyone can handle the acidity from a hot pepper. I don't think it is a preference issue for them but rather a chemistry issue with what their mouth and taste buds can handle.

Therefore, you can make the assumption that folks who like the higher IBU are probably those who do not react to the acidity of hot peppers as well. I doubt it has anything to do with taste buds being burn't of with beer preference.

Agreed.

I have been a big fan of spicy food and peppers since I was a kid and never "really" liked beer until I discovered Sierra Nevada Pale Ale way back when. Now that's what I drink for a mellow readily available brew, I am an IPA, DIPA man almost exclusively though, the more hops the better. Its fun to now be making the beer I like, got a DIPA and a Ruination (almost) clone in the ferm's now, my second and third batches, so I hope the turn out well, smell great so far!